Mosquitoes can transmit several diseases including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, Zika virus, filariasis causing millions of deaths every year, mainly children and pregnant women.
Mosquito repellents are one of the most important tools to prevent mosquito borne diseases transmission. The most used and long-lasting repellents are the ones containing N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) and Icaridin.
Although it has been demonstrated their efficacy against mosquito biting, their toxicity and collateral effects on human body are not well characterized [1]. For this reason, many natural repellents have been developed in order to avoid the issues related to the use of synthetic compounds. Plant essential oils are recognized as interesting insecticide-resources showing no effects on humans and environment.
Existing references known as repellents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,929,608, 5,716,602, 5,965,137, 6,538,027, 6,548,085, 6,555,121, 6,719,959, 7,144,591, 7,201,926, 7,232,844, 7,344,728, 7,381,431, 7,531,188, 7,858,127, 7,985,432, 8,568,800, 8,647,684, 8,663,615, 8,742,204, 8,999,407, 9,079,152, 9,101,143, 9,210,926, 9,326,524, 9,433,203 and 9,717,240.
It is an object of the invention to provide a new, effective and safe formulation for a natural repellent against Anopheles mosquitoes, vectors of malaria, and Aedes mosquitoes, vectors of dengue, Zika virus, chikungunya and yellow fever.
It is an object of the invention to improve upon the deficiencies in the prior art.